Turn-table for use in mines.



Patented ont. 7', 1902.

No. 710,85i.

w. L. EPPEBS & .l. HAMILTON. TURN TABLE FOB USE I-N MINES.

(Application med nu. 17, 1902.1 (Ilo Modal.)

4 Shasta-Sheet I.-

.www1

/NVENTOHJ W/ TNE SSE S W A TTOHNEYS Patented Uct. 7, |902.l

W. L. EPPERS J. HAMILTON. TURN TABLE FOB USE IN MINES.

(Application led Mar. 17, 1902.) v

4 Sheets-Sheet` 2.

(No Model.)

/NVENTOHJ W/TNESSES: y`

I ATTORNEYS I Patented Oct. 7, |902.

w. L. EPPERS & J. HAMILTON. TURN TABLE FUR USE IN MINES.

(Appncation med Mar. 11, 1902.)

4 s hgets-Sheet 3.

xNo Model.)

/N VEA/70H5 W/TNESSES ATTORNEYS No. 7|o,85|. Patented ont. 7, |902.

W. L. EPPERS & J. HAMILTONY TURN TABLE FOR USE IN MINES.

(Application led. Mar. 17, 1902.)

4 Sheeis'Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS 'i UNITED STATES 'PATENT FFICE.

WIILLIAM L. EPPERS lAND JAMES HAMILTON, OFMOUNT WASHINGTON, MARYLAND.

TURN-TABLE FOR USE IN IVHNES.v

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 710,851, dated October '7, 1902.

Application filed March 17, 1902. Serial No. 98,660. (No model.)

To o7/Z whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM L. EPPERS and JAMES HAMILToN, citizens of the United States, and'residents ofY Mount Vashington, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Turn-Tables for Use in Mines, of which the following is a specification.

In many copper, coal, and similar mines an inclined shaft or passage-Way is utilized for access to the ore deposits, and from such shaft galleries or levels lead off horizontally or according to the direction of the veins. Itis the usual practice to lay rails in the shaft and also in the galleries or levels for the cars used for conveying the mined product; but the cars which run in the shaft proper and in the galleries or levels are of different size and the tracks are of different gage. It is therefore requisite that the smaller cars on the levels shall be discharged into the larger ones that run in the shaft. In other words, it is necessary that Vthe copper, coal, or other product shall be transferred from the gallerycars to the shaft-cars. This obviously involves much time Vand labor and is therefore a considerable item of expense inthe operation of the mine. INe have devised an apparatus by Which the shaft-cars may be transferred to and from the galleries or levels with ease and rapidity, so that transfer of the mined product is unnecessary. In brief,

a car once loaded in a gallery or level is runto the shaft and then transferred to the shafttrack and hauled out of the mine. Our apparatus for effecting this result is constructcd, arranged, and operated as hereinafter described, and illustrated in accompanying drawings, (four sheets,) in Which- Figure l is a vertical section of the portion of a mine, showing a section of an inclined shaft and galleryor levelleading therefrom and our improved turn-table arranged at the intersection of the shaft and gallery with a car thereon. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the pivoted stop attached to the turn-table proper for holding a car thereon. Fig. 3 is a plan view representing the turn-table in horizontal position, as required to enable the car thereon to run into one of the two galleries or levels shown. Fig. et is a view similar to adapted to run on the shaft-rails l.

Fig. l, save that the turn-table,with car thereon, is shown shifted to the horizontalV position, as required preparatory to rotating it, so that'the car may enter the adjacent gallery. Fig. A5 isa perspective View ofthe portion of the tiltable framev4 upon'which the turn-table is supported, together with -a spring locking device for the turn-table' and 4, A indicates a shaft or passage-Way,

having an inclination of about forty-live degrees and which in practice extends from the upper openingof a mine or from an upper chamber from Whicha passage-Way leads ontlWard. In practice these shafts may extend several hundred feet, and therefrom galleries orV levels B lead off horizontally at required I intervalsof space. It isthecomin'on practice to layrails l in the shaft, as shown, and other rails 2 in the galleries-or levels 13; but they are not of th'esaine gage, or if of the same gage there is no means of transferof cars from the shaft'to the level,vand vice versa. The cars used in thelevelB must therefore be unloaded and their contents transferred to cars In the drawings, C indicates a'car such as is in use in some mines for hauling up the shaft, the mined product received from the cars operating in the level. W'e arrange at the intersection or junction of the shaft A and the level B a turn-table D, which is adapted to be shifted from an inclined position tothe horizontal and also to be rotated to bring its railsV 1rL into alineinent with the rails'2 of the level,-so that the car C may be run off the turn-table into the level B or from the level on the turntable, as required.

Ve will now describe the details of construction and arrangement and operation of the turn-table and ils several attachments.

As indicated best in Fig. 3, the table Dhas Fig. 6 is a plan view of such tiltable` IOO a portion of its periphery or edge provided with teeth 3, adapted to mesh'with a worm 3, which is keyed upon a shaft 4. (See Fig. 3.) This shaft has a pinion 4, (see Fig. 4,) that meshes with a gear 4", having a crank-arm 4C. As shown in Fig. 7, the table D is supported upon a central pivot E, which forms an attachment of the frame F. (See Fig. 6.) The pivot E is provided with a ball-bearing and is otherwise constructed, as will be further described hereinafter. By rotating the wormshaft 4 the table D may be rotated, as required,to bring the rails 1a into alinement With the shaft-rails 1 or the gallery-rails 2. lt will be seen in Figs. 1 and 3 that the shaft Ais eX- tended to form a chamber AQ which accommodates the turn-table and connected parts, together with the stationary frame 34, required for supporting them and the alined ends of the shaft-rails l. When the turn-table D is in the inclined position shown in Fig. 1, its rails lfrform a close joint With the shaftrails 1, the ends of both being scarfed, as shown, for this purpose. When in this position, a car C may be run up and down on the same from or to any desired depth, the table being at such time locked in place. In practice a rope G (see Fig. 1) is run from the car C to the top of the shaft, Where it is wound on a windlass operated by any suitable motor. From the inclined positiou the table D may be shifted to the horizontal, as shownin Fig. 4. The means for effecting this are as follows: As shown in Figs. land 4, a shaft having a crank 7, is provided with a Worm S, meshed with the worm-gear 9, which is keyed upon one of the trunnions 10, forminglateral extensions of the turn-table frame F. (See Fig. 6.) Itis apparent that by rotating the said shaft 6 'the turn-table D with its track l and a car C thereon may be turned down from the inclined position to the horizontal or raised from the latter to the inclined position, as required, to enable the car C to be transferred to a levelB or from the latter to the table, as the case may be. Further, the worm S and wheel 9 lock in any position to which they may be adjusted, and thus the table D is also locked. The gear 9 is shown mutilated. The trunnions 10 may be practically a continuous shaft extending the en tire width of the frame F. The latter is provided with wheels11,(see Figs. 1, 4, 6, and 8,) upon which the rabbeted rim of the table proper rests and travels when being rotated. The said Wheels 11 therefore serve to support the table rigidly under the Weight imposed upon it. )Ve have already indicated the means 3 and 4 (see Fig. 3) for rotating the table. Such rotation is always effected when the table is in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 4, and in case the level B leads 01T at a right angle it is apparentthat the table D will require to be rotated one-quarter around for transfer of the car. The table proper,D, is locked in position-that is to say, with its rails l in alinem ent with the shaft-rails 1 or the gallery-rails 2-by means of the slidable spring-pin 12, (see Figs. 5, 6, and 7,) which is operated by a lever 13. The said pin 12 is adapted to slide in removable bearings 14, and a spiral spring 15 (see Fig. 7) is arranged to bear against the enlarged portion or body of said pin, it being inclosed in one of the bearings 14, as shown. The lever 13 is pivoted to the frame F, and its horizontal end extends backward, so that it may be conveniently reached by a person stationed at X, Fig. 3, Where he also has access to the cranks of the shafts 4 and 6. The said spring-pin 12 is adapted to enter a socket 12a (see Fig. 7) in the periphery of the turn-table D, and when so engaged it locks the table immovably, and thus supplements the function of the worm 3a and shaft 4. Before the table can be rotated the horizontal end of the lever 13 is pressed inward or toward the frame F and withdraws the pin 12, and the shaft 4 being then rotated and the table thereby moved a short distance on its pivot the lever 13 is released, and the pin 12 then slides in frictional contact with .the circular rabbeted edge of the table until it reaches another socket 12, when it is iustantly thrown into the same by the spring 15. Vheu an empty car C is lowered into the mine, it isv arrested adjacent to a gallery or y level B and rests in contact With a hinged stop 16, (see Figs. l, 2, 4,) which consists of arms secured upon a shaft 17, operated by a hand-lever 18, by which they maybe thrown upward or into vertical position ordownward into alinement with the rails 1 when not required for use. The said arms 16 are provided with sleeve extensions 16, by which they are supported in position to arrest the car C.Y The rope G being detached the crankshaft 6 is rotated to shift the turn-table from the inclined to the horizontal position, as in Fig. 4. Then the lever 13 is operated to release the locking-pin 12 from engagement with the table, and the shaft 4 is rotated to turn the table with the car C thereon to bring the rails 1a into alinement with the gallery-rails 2, and when this position is reached the pin 12 is automatically thrown in by the spring 15 and locks the table, as before. The empty car C is then run off into the gallery and when filled is hauled or pushed out of the sameand on the table D, as shown in Fig. 3, and the table is then rotated and shifted to au inclined position, (shown in Fig. 1,) when the rope G being again attached the loaded car is hauled out of the mine. These operations to wit, the shifting of the table horizontally and vertically, as required, to elfect the transfer of empty and loaded cars-may be very easily and quickly elfected.

. It will be understood that the galleryB will in practice be enlarged at apoint adjacent- IOO IIO

IIS

For the purpose of supporting the table D at its upper edge, so that it will have no movement vertically in consequence of looseness of other parts, we provide the mechanism shown best in Fig. 8. The same consists of a slidable plate 20, a slidable wedge 2l, and a hand-lever 22. The said plate has transverse or vertical slots 23, which receive guidepins, forming attachments of brackets 24. The lower edge of the plate 2O is horizontal, and the wedge 2l, which is a long bar, slides between such bottom edge and a similarlyinclined abutment or fixed bar 25. The wedge 2l works in the keeper 26, and the lever 22 is pivoted to the turn-table frame F and provided with a lengthwise slot 22a to adapt it for the required loose connection with the wedge 2l. It is apparent that by operating the lever 22 the wedge 2l may be pushed inward beneath the plate 2O or withdrawn, according as it is desired to raise or lower the said plate. Vhen raised, the plate will abut and support the edge of the table D.

The pivot E of the table D is a screwthreaded bolt having a lianged collar 27, (see Fig. 7,) the lower flange resting upon the antifriction-balls 2S, (see Fig. 6,) which run in a cup 29, resting upon and properly secured to the tiltable frame F. Nuts 30 are applied to the upper and lower ends of the screw E- that is to say, above the table D and below the frame F-and cotters 3l are applied as means for locking them. The screw 3l being firmly supported in the central cross-bar of the frame F and the flanged collar or sleeve 27 being free to rotate with the table D, it is apparent that the latter is not only greatly relieved of friction, but is duly centered on the frame at all times. The frame is suitably braced or trussed on its under side, as shown in Fig. 7.

In case a gallery or level B is closed or not worked the turn-table D will of course in such case be held permanently in the inclined position shown in Fig. l. Then to strengthen the connection between the rails l and la we apply fish-plates at their junction. (See Fig. l, dotted lines.)

It will be seen in Fig. l that the lower ends of the shaft-rails lare supported by a brace 33, forming a portion lof the general framework 34, which is arranged in the shaft enlargement or chamber A'. We have spoken of the rails l as being applied to the table D. They are, in fact, however, secured to ties fastened upon timbers D', which are laid parallel and extend entirely across the upper side of the table. The lower ends of these timbers D are chamfered or beveled, as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the table is in the inclined position they will rest or bear upon the similarly-beveled ends of timbers D2, supporting the rails l in the portion of the shaft which extends below the turn-table. Further, the said beveled ends of the timbers D close between vertical blocks 35, (see Figs. l, 3,

and 4,)whereby the function of the tablelocking devices is supplemented.

It will be understood that any preferred form of car may be employed and that the one illustrated in the drawings is used merely for illustration.

By dispensing with means for tilting the table D vertically the latter will be adapted for use on a level in or outside of a mine, and in such case the desired means for rotating the table horizontally may be dispensed with and an ordinary hand-lever used for the purpose. In brief, the table can then be used for any purpose where a turn-table is required.

Having thus described ourinvention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. The combination, with an inclined mineshaft and a lateral level communicating therewith, and tracks of like gage laid in both, of a table having a track-section adaptedv to form part of the shaft-track or level-track as the case may be, the said table being pivoted and adapted to rotate vertically and horizontally, and means for effecting such movement, the same consisting of worm-wheels, worms, and rotatable shafts suitably geared and connected with the table and its frame, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination,with an inclined track and a lateral track arranged as shown, of a table having a track-section adapted to coincide with either of the fixed tracks, and means for rotating the table vertically, the same consisting of a worm-wheel keyed upon one of the journals of the table-frame, and a shaft and a worm carried thereon and adapted to engage the said worm-wheel, whereby the table may be rotated and locked, as shown and described.

3. The combination,with aninclined track, and a lateral track leading therefrom, of a table located at the intersection of the two tracks and having a track-section of the same gage as the latter, the said table being pivoted and adapted to rotate both vertically and horizontally and provided with a peripheral rack, a gear and shaft for rotating the same which is arranged in fixed bearings on the frame, the said gear and table-rack being relatively constructed as shown and described, whereby, when the table is shifted from the inclined to the horizontal position, the gear engages the rack and may be rotated to turn the table as required.

Ll. The combination, with an inclined mineshaft and a lateral level comm unicating there with and having tracks of like gage, of a table which is pivoted and adapted to rotate in vertical and horizontal planes and provided with a track-section of the same gage as the fixed tracks, worm-gearing, and two wormshafts for operating the same, to rotate the table as required to shift it in both planes, the said shafts being provided'with cranks arranged in juxtaposition, and a spring-pin loo IIO

for locking the table, and a lever connected with said pin and extending into juxtaposition With the cranks of the Worm-shafts, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with a frame, and a table which is rotatable thereon, of a vertically-slidable plate arranged beneath the periphery of said table and adapted to engage the saine when raised to a certain position, a wedge arranged beneath the plate and serving to raise the saine as required, and means for adjusting the Wedge horizontally,as shown and described.

6. The eoinbination,witl1 a table,aud a frame upon Which the same is pivoted, of a plate provided with slots and Working,` vertically on suitable guides, a Wedge arranged below said plate and adapted to be forced between the 'latter and a fixed piece, whereby the plate VILLIAM L. EPPERS. Y JAMES HAMILTON.

`Nitnesses:

Amos W. HART, SoLoN C. KEuoN. 

